Memorial service for the ‘last male standing’ white rhino set for today

Rhino Caregivers James Mwenda (left) and Zachary Mutai with the only remaining Northern White Rhinos at Ol pejeta Conservancy in Lakipia county on March 22,2018 . The conservancy hosts the only Two Rhinos remaining in the world ,facing imminent extinction. The Rhinos are kept within the 600 acre engendered species enclosure with are under a 24 hour surveillance..Photo:Kipsang Joseph/Standard

 A memorial service for the last male Northern White rhino, Sudan, will be held today.

Sudan, 45, died of age-related complications on March 19 at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Laikipia County.

Local and international wildlife conservationists are expected to attend the ceremony.

“On Saturday, March 31, we will be holding a memorial ceremony for Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, who died on March 19,” Ol Pejeta said in a statement to newsrooms.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala will preside over the ceremony at the Rhino Memorial Cemetery at Ol Pejeta.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy paid tribute to Sudan as "the 'Last Male Standing,’ a global figure that will go down as the most prolific rhino ambassador in history."

“The Last Male Standing. The Most Eligible Bachelor. These are some of the affectionate epithets that were bestowed on Sudan over the years.  Born in the wild in Sudan in 1973, Sudan has subsequently evolved into a legend – in part due to his status as the last male member of a rhino subspecies,” the tribute reads.

Sudan made his debut on Tinder, a dating app in 2017 in a move to save his species from extinction in a joint campaign between Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Tinder to raise £7 million needed to protect the northern white rhino from extinction.

“We are in a race. A race against the extinction of the northern white rhino species. We urgently need to raise awareness and funds for Sudan. No one could run this campaign better with us than Tinder.

It will offer ‘the most eligible bachelor’ global exposure in such a meaningful way. We are honoured and very proud to be part of this campaign that will have a positive impact on our environment,” said Mathieu Plassard, Regional Managing Director, and Ogilvy Africa during the announcement last year.

And in efforts to keep the memories alive through generations, the conservancy announced that a documentary entitled ‘The Last Male Standing’ will be rolled out early next year. The documentary was filmed by US award-winning film maker David Hambridge.